Unique regulatory network of dragon fruit simultaneously mitigates the effect of vanadium pollutant and environmental factors.

Under changing climatic conditions, plants are simultaneously facing conflicting stresses in nature. Plants can sense different stresses, induce systematic ROS signals, and regulate transcriptomic, hormonal, and stomatal responses. We performed transcriptome analysis to reveal the integrative stress response regulatory mechanism underlying heavy metal stress alone or in combination with heat and drought conditions in pitaya (dragon fruit). A total of 70 genes were identified from 31,130 transcripts with conserved differential expression. Furthermore, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) identified trait-associated modules. By integrating information from three modules and protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks, we identified 10 interconnected genes associated with the multifaceted defense mechanism employed by pitaya against co-occurring stresses. To further confirm the reliability of the results, we performed a comparative analysis of 350 genes identified by three trait modules and 70 conserved genes exhibiting their dynamic expression under all treatments. Differential expression pattern of genes and comparative analysis, have proven instrumental in identifying ten putative structural genes. These ten genes were annotated as PLAT/LH2, CAT, MLP, HSP, PB1, PLA, NAC, HMA, and CER1 transcription factors involved in antioxidant activity, defense response, MAPK signaling, detoxification of metals and regulating the crosstalk between the complex pathways. Predictive analysis of putative candidate genes, potentially governing single, double, and multifactorial stress response, by several signaling systems and molecular patterns. These findings represent a valuable resource for pitaya breeding programs, offering the potential to develop resilient "super pitaya" plants.

Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Pattern of the GRAS Gene Family in Pitaya (Selenicereus undatus L.).

The GRAS gene family is one of the most important families of transcriptional factors that have diverse functions in plant growth and developmental processes including axillary meristem patterning, signal-transduction, cell maintenance, phytohormone and light signaling. Despite their importance, the function of GRAS genes in pitaya fruit (Selenicereus undatus L.) remains unknown. Here, 45 members of the HuGRAS gene family were identified in the pitaya genome, which was distributed on 11 chromosomes. All 45 members of HuGRAS were grouped into nine subfamilies using phylogenetic analysis with six other species: maize, rice, soybeans, tomatoes, Medicago truncatula and Arabidopsis. Among the 45 genes, 12 genes were selected from RNA-Seq data due to their higher expression in different plant tissues of pitaya. In order to verify the RNA-Seq data, these 12 HuGRAS genes were subjected for qRT-PCR validation. Nine HuGRAS genes exhibited higher relative expression in different tissues of the plant. These nine genes which were categorized into six subfamilies inlcuding DELLA (HuGRAS-1), SCL-3 (HuGRAS-7), PAT1 (HuGRAS-34, HuGRAS-35, HuGRAS-41), HAM (HuGRAS-37), SCR (HuGRAS-12) and LISCL (HuGRAS-18, HuGRAS-25) might regulate growth and development in the pitaya plant. The results of the present study provide valuable information to improve tropical pitaya through a molecular and conventional breeding program.

Bibliometric analysis of publications on research into cotton leaf curl disease.

Cotton leaf curl disease (CLCuD), caused by viruses of the family Geminiviridae (genus Begomovirus), is of great concern for cotton production worldwide. The aim of the study was to characterize and quantify the worldwide scientific output of CLCuD research using bibliometric analysis. PubMed, Google Scholar and Scopus search engines were used to extract available data from 1901 to July 2017. A total of 854 CLCuD-related published documents were identified. Most of the documents were published in the form of original research articles (644, 75.4 %) and English was the main language of publication (807, 94 %). The results demonstrate that the study of CLCuD exhibits an overall increasing trend from 1991 to 2017, with the highest number of articles published in 2013. The top 10 countries in terms of absolute research output (number of publications) on this subject were Pakistan (217; 25.40%), India (161; 18.85%), the United States of America (USA; 122; 14.85%), China (85; 9.95%), United Kingdom (57; 6.67%), Sudan (31; 3.62%), Israel (14; 1.63%), Spain (13; 1.52%), Australia (11; 1.28%), Saudi Arabia (9; 1.05%) and Iran (9; 1.05%). Pakistan's most important collaborator was United States of America, followed by China. Noteworthy, not one of the papers listed here was the result of scientific collaboration between India and Pakistan. The total number of citations for all the publications was 3174, with an average of 3.71 citations per publication. The h-index for all extracted data related to CLCuD was 91. The top h-index was achieved by Pakistan (54) followed by the United Kingdom (43), the USA (41) and India (39). The National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE), Faisalabad, ranked the first in the top 10 list of the most productive institutes. This bibliometric analysis highlights the leading role of Pakistan, India and the USA in research on CLCuD and points out that the initiation of a collaboration between Pakistan and India may have a significant impact on the research output and progress.